Natural Balance Pet Foods
| Subsidiary | |
| Industry | Pet food |
| Founded | Pacoima, Los Angeles, California, United States (1989) |
| Headquarters | Pacoima, Los Angeles, California, United States |
|
Area served
|
Worldwide |
|
Key people
|
Dick Van Patten |
| Products | Dog food, cat food, zoological food |
| Owner | The J.M. Smucker Company |
| Website | Natural Balance Inc. |
Dick Van Patten's Natural Balance Pet Foods is an American pet food manufacturer with its headquarters located in Burbank, Los Angeles, California. Established in 1989 by actor Dick Van Patten, the company markets itself as "Food For a Lifetime" and promotes itself as having "the finest food you can buy for your pet." A subsidiary of Big Heart Pet Brands, it is currently owned by the J.M. Smucker Company.
Natural Balance began in 1989 when Van Patten was a guest on John Davidson's show. Van Patten had lunch with the show's band drummer who rescued dogs and cats. Van Patten told him when he was a kid he had snakes, alligators, and other animals. The drummer and Van Patten had an idea of making a health food for dogs. At the time, Van Patten played tennis with a veterinarian and she said the best quality food should have no filler, no wheat, no corn, no soy, and no by-products.
Many of Natural Balance's dry formulas maintain this initial ingredient list; others, such as the dog food rolls, include wheat flour and sugar. As of 2014, the food rolls have been reformulated to not contain wheat flour and instead utilize brown rice.
Initially Natural Balance lost money, until the brand was picked up by Petco and featured in more than 625 stores.
On May 22, 2013 Natural Balance merged with Del Monte, maker of pet foods such as Kibbles 'n Bits, Meow Mix and Milo's Kitchen. In March 2015 The J.M. Smucker Company purchased Natural Balance and the Big Heart Pet Brands from Del Monte.
The product line includes L.I.D. Limited Ingredient Diets, Original Ultra Whole Body Health, Vegetarian, and Wild Pursuit high protein diets.
Natural Balance has a large variety of both dog and cat formulas in dry, treats, rolls, or canned form, including:
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